Classical cover: Borodin’s ‘Polovtsian Dances’

The 1953 musical “Kismet” used the melodies of Russian composer Alexander Borodin (1833-1887), adapted and given different words by Robert Wright and George Forrest. One of the tunes, from the “Polovtsian Dances,” became a popular song called “Stranger in Paradise.” First, listen to it in its original form, as “The Gliding Dance of the Maidens” section of the “Polovtsian Dances” from the opera “Prince Igor.” (I have it cued up to the proper spot; there’s an intro, then the famous melody.)

Here now is Tony Bennett singing the popular song in 1954.